Tainted Love
by RosalindHawkins
Summary: Seto Kaiba and Yami Bakura have a purely sexual relationship. Seto doesn't want their arrangement to change, but what happens when Bakura gets his love-sick host mixed up in the middle of things? Antagoshipping, Euroshipping, Tendershipping, Candleshipping. Contains: smut/lemon, yaoi, Dom/sub/bondage, uke!Seto, uke!Ryou, dub-con, language. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Flesh

**"** **Hold my hands above my head  
** **And push my face into the bed,  
** **Cause I'm a screamer, baby, make me a mute.  
** **You put your hand upon my neck and feel the pulse beat, beat, beat, beat;  
** **It's like a trigger, get me ready to shoot.**

 **Wanna wrestle with me, baby?  
** **Here's a sneak, little peek.  
** **You can dominate the game, cause I'm tough.  
** **I don't play around that often,  
** **When I do, I'm a freak.  
** **So you'd better believe I like it rough."**

 **~ _Flesh_ by Simon Curtis**

* * *

Seto Kaiba was at his office late at night—again. It was only the second time this week, though, and his brother had seemed satisfied with a promise to be home before midnight. It was almost eleven now, so he still had time. He was still in his classic white suit, not having cared enough to change. He hadn't even removed his tie.

"Holy Ra, Kaiba. If you keep working so late you'll work yourself to death, and then where would I be?"

Seto looked up as he heard an all-too-familiar British villain's voice. The fool was hanging bat-like, upside-down from the ventilation shaft in the ceiling, his white hair pointing downward like a pearly stalactite. Well, Seto's office was dim enough at this point that it might as well be a cave. So what did that make Seto?

"You would still be a thief and an intruder." Seto's dead-pan answer was met with a chuckle as the shorter teen gracefully dropped from the ceiling and landed in a crouch on the floor. His agility was quite impressive, and Seto allowed himself a moment to wonder if the thief had it because Ryou had first obtained it, or if Ryou had obtained it from the thief's illegal antics.

"You're so cold to me, Kaiba-boy," Bakura teased as he walked towards the large desk with half lidded eyes. "If I hadn't been inside you myself, I would think that you're made of nothing but ice."

Seto's head snapped to the side to glare at him. He hated it when Bakura talked like that. "If you're just here to insult me, I'll call security," he threatened, entirely serious.

"Come now, it was just a joke," Bakura retorted with a toss of his hair. "If you're going to be so rude to me, then you can just go home and fuck yourself tonight for all I care."

"Like hell I will," Seto growled, grabbing Bakura by the front of his shirt and pulling him down into a rough, sloppy kiss that shouldn't have been as enjoyable as it was.

"As much as I would _love_ to fuck you in this chair," Bakura crooned with lidded eyes when they'd broken apart at last. "I have different plans for tonight." Before Seto could ask him what his plans were or tell him to stop, the thief reached around and gave a sharp, precise blow to the side of his neck, effectively knocking him out cold.

* * *

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty."

Ugh, that conceited, overbearing voice. Seto forced his eyes open and realized immediately where they were. The table in the conference room. What the fuck was Bakura thinking?

"That's better," Bakura crooned, leaning over Seto and coming into view.

"We're not doing this here," he declared. "We're going back to my office, Bakura. Now." He would have just gotten up and dragged Bakura with him, but his hands were tied behind his back at the moment—which often happened after Bakura knocked him out.

It had become something of a ritual between him that he simply accepted: Bakura would show up on any given day, always late at night, whether Seto was here or home; they'd engage in brief banter, and then they'd either have sex where they were or Bakura would knock him out and take him somewhere else for the sex. There was always sex.

Initially, he'd been somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of getting off with the spirit that possessed his former classmate. The first time this had happened, Seto had asked Bakura if Ryou was alright with their doing this. Bakura had waved a hand dismissively and said that he had an arrangement with his hikari, at which point the instincts of Seto's sex-starved body had taken over.

They weren't lovers, because that term, Seto thought, implied some kind of emotional attachment. They weren't friends with benefits, because they weren't friends. They were more like acquaintances who occasionally had sex and never interacted for any other purpose. The most fitting colloquialism for that was fuck-buddy, and while Seto hated the sound of something so crude being the _formal_ title for their arrangement, it was accurate, and he was a stickler for accuracy.

"You should really try being more adventurous, Kaiba," Bakura sighed, crossing his arms as Seto rolled off of the table and managed to catch himself on his feet.

"Doing anything sexual inside my office building is sufficiently adventurous for me," he growled as he left the conference room, focusing on keeping his balance.

In a matter of moments, Bakura was behind him, saying, "Would you rather I'd stripped you naked and dragged you to the roof as I'd originally planned?"

"That sounds very uncomfortable," Seto scoffed disdainfully. "And I have no taste for discomfort."

"Yet you enjoy it when I bind you," Bakura said with a smirk, stepping out ahead of Kaiba and taking a few steps backwards before stopping with his hands behind his back, making Kaiba stop as well.

"I never asked you to do that, though, did I?"

"You begged me with your eyes." His sultry voice was charming, but it was also meant to be persuasive, and Seto wasn't about to let himself be manipulated.

"Impossible. I don't beg, and the idea that emotions and desires can be detected in the eyes is a myth."

Bakura grabbed Seto by the shoulders and slammed his back into the wall, stepping close to pin him there. "You talk too much," he muttered before seizing Seto's chin in his fingers and pulling him into another rough kiss.

This one was deeper and lasted much longer, but when Bakura pulled back, he did something surprising: he slapped a large piece of masking tape over Seto's mouth. He must have had it since he woke up in the conference room, just waiting to use it. Seto glared at his partner as Bakura smirked and pressed a small kiss to his taped mouth.

"That fixes that," he purred, his bedroom eyes making Seto's heart race. The brunette reminded himself that it was just a physiological component of sexual arousal, and that the heart was a muscle that had nothing to do with emotions.

"Come, Seto, I'm not sure I can support you if we try to do this standing up." Even when he was aroused, there remained a permanent mockery in Bakura's voice. Maybe that was why Seto actually felt comfortable enough to engage with him like this, because Bakura's constant mockery meant that Seto always had his guard up to deflect his words. His heart and mind were never vulnerable.

Bakura put his hands on the other's shoulders and guided Seto until he was lying on his back on the floor and Bakura was undoing Seto's pants. "I'm sorry, but it's been a while, and I'm feeling very impatient right now—something I'm sure you can sympathize with."

Seto grunted unintelligibly as he glared at his partner. His entire lower half was now exposed, his pants bunched up around his ankles.

"Ih hew huin hee ah, Ih nehe—" Seto was attempting to speak despite the tape over his mouth.

"You do realize that I have no idea what you're saying, right?" Bakura chuckled, his fingers dancing along the corporation president's member so that he moaned despite himself. "What could you possibly be trying to tell me, I wonder?"

Seto squeezed Bakura's torso with his knees, holding him tightly as Bakura's tongue ran along Seto's length.

"You could be telling me that there are security cameras watching us." He bent down and swirled his tongue along the brunette's entrance before he continued, "You needn't worry about that; I'll sneak in and erase the security tapes when we're done." He pulled the small bottle of lube out of his pocket so that he could give his partner a little preparation.

"Hew ihn ooh hiwee o' yohell."

"Oh, that's too kind." Bakura chuckled before licking Seto again, this time inserting his tongue and causing a muffled, desperate moan to vibrate from his partner's throat.

"Just as I thought; you need this as much as I do."

Seto just growled with need as he shot the thief a glare. His growl turned to a strangled whimper as Bakura thrust three lubed fingers in at once. They both stopped talking then as Seto struggled to adjust to the sudden presence within him. Bakura didn't spend too long preparing him, though.

"I'll be away for a little while, so I want you to remember me while I'm gone," Bakura rasped, his mouth latching onto Seto's neck as he entered the brunette with a hard thrust of his hips. Seto cried out as his body arched, but the sound was muffled behind the tape.

"Don't cry, babe," Bakura murmured, his voice sounding rather strangled as he brushed away the sudden tears of pain that fell from those sapphire eyes. "I'll still suck you off when I'm done."

* * *

At half past midnight, Mokuba barged into his brother's office, tired, but not nearly as tired as he figured Seto was. Seto, however, had already fallen asleep at his desk. Mokuba shook his brother until he finally roused him.

"You promised you'd be home by midnight," Mokuba reminded him with a pout as Seto rubbed his eyes.

"What time is it?" Seto asked as he sat up, disoriented and groggy.

"Late." Mokuba gave his brother a glare. "Late enough that you should have gone home long ago. Come on." He grabbed his brother by the arm and started to pull him up out of his chair. Seto started to stand, but let out a groan and braced himself on his deck.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just—my back hurts," Seto grumbled.

"Well, that's what you get for sleeping in your office chair after spending the whole day there," Mokuba answered with a roll of his eyes.

 _Yeah,_ that's _why it hurts,_ Seto thought to himself. As long as Mokuba believed that, he wasn't about to argue with him.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** Is it pathetic that I feel like this is the most canon I have ever written Seto in anything? Please review and if you want to see more stuff like this, let me know!

Translations of Seto's gibberish:

"If you ruin these pants, I'll never—"  
"You think too highly of yourself."


	2. Apologize

**"I loved you with a fire red,  
** **Now it's turnin' blue.  
** **And you say,  
** **'Sorry,' like the angel  
** **Heaven let me think was you,  
** **But I'm afraid  
** **It's too late to apologize.  
** **It's too late."**

 **~ _Apologize_ by One Republic**

* * *

Seto hadn't seen Bakura in three weeks, so when the Brit had appeared in his bed mysteriously one Friday night, asking him how the heck he'd squeezed past Seto's home security was the last thing on his mind.

This time, he wasn't going to let himself be pushed around by the King of Thieves. He might be incredibly sneaky and domineering, but Seto wasn't about to yield to him any time soon.

They did things on his terms: unclothed and in a proper bed, without any of Bakura's nonsense about handcuffs, knives, kitchen counters, or linen closets. If the spirit had truly been around for millennia, as he claimed, it did make sense that he would have eventually adopted a very adventurous sex life indeed, but Seto preferred sticking to what he knew pleased him.

Like watching his partner moan and writhe beneath him on the black silk sheets as Seto began to thrust harder to drive them both to their satisfaction.

"Seto!" the thief cried, his voice increasing in pitch, his erection brushing along Seto's stomach and stimulating him. His fingernails dug into the brunette's shoulder blades as he neared completion. He dragged them downward as he came, causing Seto to grunt as he was scratched. The brunette came several moments later, then slumped forward over the other teen's body, slipping out of him as they both fought to catch their breaths. Both hearts still beat wildly, and Seto could feel Bakura's heartbeat through his chest.

"Seto…" His name again, but this time, Seto stiffened, realizing that something was wrong. That was Ryou's voice. What the fuck was Bakura thinking? If it really _was_ Ryou, and not Bakura pretending to be him, then this could very well be the most awkward situation Seto had ever been in. There was only one way to know for sure, and as much as he dreaded explaining this to his former classmate, there was no avoiding it, so he'd just have to suck it up and face it like a man.

He pushed himself up onto his forearms so that he could get a good look at his face. One glance and he knew that it truly was Ryou. The Brit stared up at the brunette, his face aflame with embarrassment. He hadn't expected this to happen either.

Seto knew that he owed him an explanation, but the words weren't coming easily to him right now, so they continued to stare at each other in silence. He would have expected Ryou to be angry or to start bawling with shame, but neither was the case. He simply stared back with large, gentle eyes and burning scarlet cheeks.

"Ryou, I…" Words failed him, and he began to get frustrated with himself, but all of that started to fade when Ryou touched his cheek tenderly.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything," he murmured with a small smile. "It's not your fault." Seto blinked down at him in confusion as Ryou began to shift uncomfortably beneath Seto's heavier bulk. "Is it alright if I use your shower before I go?" he asked in an embarrassed whisper.

"Of course," Seto answered, rolling off of him. He was still too stunned to say or do anything else. Ryou slipped out of bed and scampered to the bathroom, Seto watching him with fascination. How could he be so forgiving? If Seto were in his position, he'd be furious.

Then Seto looked down at himself and sighed. Ryou wasn't the only one in need of a shower. Well, Seto had more than one shower in his mansion, that was for sure. He could slip out of his room to use one and be back before Ryou got out.

* * *

"Why did you do that?" Ryou whispered, tears streaming down his face as he stood under the blast of the showerhead. "You knew that I liked him before you even started your… affair with him. I didn't fight you about that, not that there's much I could have done about it anyways, but why THIS? What could you possibly have to gain from that?!"

"I was sick of watching you pine over him," Bakura answered with a disdainful shrug. "You do realize that you've been fixated on him for over a year now don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Ryou snapped, hot tears still falling from his cheeks as they mingled with the shower water. "But I wasn't going to ever _do_ anything about it. I was just… waiting for it to go away…" Ryou's words trailed of in a meek, pathetic whisper, punctuated by a low sigh as his hand pressed to his aching heart. He'd always known that he never stood a chance with Seto Kaiba, so why had he fallen for him in the first place? He wished that he hadn't.

"Well, Yadonushi, you don't have to do that anymore. I've given you a way in, if you're smart enough to take it." Bakura eyed his hikari dubiously. "I doubt you will, but you'd be an idiot to pass up an opportunity as rare as this one, not after I worked so hard to get it for you."

"Ha!" It helped Ryou to be angry at Bakura; if he could be angry at him, maybe he'd get himself to stop crying. "It's almost like you don't believe that you did this for yourself. As if you've ever done anything just for me."

"Oh please, get over yourself," Bakura retorted scornfully. "He's obviously into you, so why does it matter how you got into his bed?"

"Because _you_ got me there!" Ryou squeaked, still trying to keep his voice low so that Seto didn't hear him talking to himself. "It's all so tainted now…" He sniffled, feeling the rush of tears flooding his eyes again as he resumed sobbing.

"But you liked the way he fucked us." It wasn't even a question, it was a statement, as if Bakura could read Ryou's mind—which, to be fair, was something he could actually do, but Ryou hated that he could.

"Of course I did," Ryou whimpered. "But he thought I was _you_ , so he wasn't really making love to _me_."

"But he can tell the difference between us better than anybody." Bakura chuckled softly to himself before he added, "Even better than you."

"You had no right to interfere," Ryou declared indignantly, turning away from the spirit to resume his weeping. "Just leave me alone, Bakura." It was one of the few times that the spirit complied to that particular request.

He stayed in the shower, too afraid to face Seto again and too nervous to know what he should do. He pressed his forehead to the wall of the shower and leaned against it, crying until the water ran cold. Even then, he still stayed, letting himself shiver. He deserved it, after all, for letting Bakura get him tangled up in this mess. He should have kept fighting him, kept resisting with every ounce of his being, but… Bakura was so strong, and fighting his influence was so exhausting… It drained every possible resource that Ryou had whenever he tried to prevent Bakura from taking over him, so he'd learned to just give in quietly to the darkness, knowing that he preferred it to the pain. Maybe if he'd kept fighting, though, he wouldn't be in this mess.

He was still musing about this to himself when he felt a hand grab hold of his arm and pull him out of the shower. He stumbled in the direction he was pulled, and the minute he was out from under the water, a large fluffy towel was wrapped around his shivering body, and he reached up to hold it in place. His white hair straggled down in front of his face and blocked his vision, but he didn't need to see to know who it was. Who else could it be but Kaiba?

Another towel was dropped on top of his head as the other teen started to gently dry his hair. After another few moments of silence, one of them finally spoke.

"I tried to call to you, but you didn't hear me," Seto said, sounding a bit awkward. "I would have left you alone, but you were in there for almost an hour, and I was afraid something had happened to you."

Ryou didn't have the words to answer him. He was tired, so tired… His eyes came unfocused as the white muffle of thick towels obscured his vision. He didn't even realize that he'd started to sway until he felt Seto's hands at his shoulders, catching him.

"Steady." His voice was soft, like his silk sheets, like his shiny hair…

Seto plucked the damp towel off of Ryou's head, and a pair of brown eyes squinted at him tiredly, the eyes still red from all his crying.

"You should sleep here tonight," Seto decided. He felt terrible, and at this point, he would have done almost anything Ryou asked if it would have helped him earn the forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve. Ryou just blinked, and Seto had no way of knowing if he was even understanding what he heard. He was clearly in no state to take care of himself, that much was certain. _Ach, Ryou, please forgive me,_ he thought as he took the towel he'd wrapped around Ryou's body and used it to dry him off. He did what needed to be done, but he wasn't about to take advantage of the poor boy again. When he was done, he wrapped the towel around him and guided him to Seto's closet, where Seto dressed him in one of his own nightshirts. It was much too large for Ryou, but that meant that it provided adequate coverage, which would have to be sufficient for now.

Ryou still wasn't speaking, still didn't seem to be registering anything that was happening, so Seto simply led him with his hands on his shoulders to the other half of the bed—the half where the sheets were clean. The bed was big enough that they still had more than enough space for the two of them to sleep comfortably.

When they were tucked in together under the sheets, Seto watched Ryou, expecting him to fall dead asleep immediately, but he didn't. He slowly dragged one finger along the sheets, gazing on them with the same blank look he'd worn since Seto pulled him out of the shower.

"Why are your sheets black?" he asked in a faint whisper that Seto had to strain to hear.

"Why are they black? Because… because they match," Seto answered simply.

"Match what?" He yawned then, and Seto realized that neither of them should be awake at this hour.

"I'll tell you in the morning. Go to sleep."

"They don't match you," Ryou murmured as his eyes closed.

"What?" He didn't understand; what did he mean by that?

"If you think they match you, you're wrong." Seto could barely understand him, so he decided to leave it til morning.

He'd intended to give Ryou his space as they slept, but that morning, as the sun peeked above the horizon, the two were cuddled closely, arms around each other, Ryou's head off the pillow entirely as it lay on the mattress right by Seto's chest. It was the calm before the storm, the peace before the war.


	3. Vulnerable

**"And your slow shaking fingertips show that you're scared like me,  
** **So let's pretend we're alone.  
** **And I know you may be scared,  
** **And I know we're unprepared, but I don't care.**

 **Tell me, tell me what makes you think that you are invincible?  
** **I can see it in your eyes that you're so sure.  
** **Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable.  
** **Impossible."**

 **~ _Vulnerable_ by Secondhand Serenade**

* * *

Seto moved about quietly the next morning, not wanting to wake the teen who still slept soundly in his bed. He'd seemed so tired last night that Seto couldn't help but wonder if Bakura was too hard on him. Did Bakura sense hunger and exhaustion differently than his host did? The thief certainly seemed tireless, and though Seto could recall seeing him eat steak on the Battle City blimp, he'd never seen him eat anything else. But Ryou was just a normal teenager. A teenager who looked like an angel, but a normal teenager nonetheless. Seto's eyes lingered on that soft flowing hair—how did it always seem softer when it was Ryou's and not Bakura's? He shook his head, starting to get confused. Of course the hair was the same, no matter which soul was in possession of their body.

This whole body/soul dualism concept was giving him a headache, so he quickly redirected his thoughts and instead paid close attention to his tie as he tightened it at his throat. Tying a tie was second nature for him by now. He never had to think about it, it was something he just did on autopilot. He pulled on his suit jacket with the ease of someone who'd done so hundreds of times, then sprayed on his cologne and jotted down a quick note for Ryou, leaving it on the nightstand for him. He hesitated, then took a moment to smooth that white hair back away from his face and give his forehead a kiss, the way he would do for Mokuba when his little brother came to sleep with Seto because of a nightmare. He left for work then, and as the door closed behind him, Ryou opened his eyes.

The scent of Seto's cologne lingered and he inhaled it indulgently, still savoring the smooth texture of the silk sheets. Seto had actually _kissed_ him. Butterflies seemed to fill Ryou's chest cavity and give him a sense of fluttery excitement like nothing he'd ever felt before.

 _Yadonushi, if you don't come back and capitalize on the opportunity you have, then you truly are a fool._ Bakura sounded grumpy, but there was a touch of amusement in his voice, as well as a hint of disappointment. Ryou knew why, but he wasn't going to address it. He wasn't in the mood to put up with Bakura's bad attitude.

 _Well, the worst case scenario already happened, thanks to you,_ Ryou retorted. _What's the worst that could happen?_

He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. He noticed the note on the nightstand and picked it up, eyes skimming over it eagerly. He sighed happily, his eyes getting soft and dewy as he pressed the note to his chest.

 _Honestly, Yadonushi, you're such a sap that even a woman would find you to be overly emotional,_ Bakura snapped, sick of watching Ryou be all lovey-dovey over the brunette. He was starting to wish that he'd just let his host pine.

 _You had your chance,_ Ryou snapped at him. _Now shut up._

Bakura fell silent after that, for the which Ryou was quite grateful. He didn't need to be arguing with his yami right now. He had more important things to think about, like how Seto had invited him to return that evening so that they could talk things over. He needed to get to school, but before that, he needed to get home to change.

 _I believe that's my cue,_ Bakura said cheekily, and Ryou's world went black.

* * *

Seto was antsy as he waited for Ryou to show up that evening. He was almost an hour late. What was taking him so long? Perhaps Bakura had decided that he was done with Seto. He certainly deserved that didn't he? Kaiba scowled, frustrated with himself getting sucked into the thief's little games.

"Hello, Kaiba."

"You could have used the front door, you know. I did invite you, after all," the brunette retorted tartly as he turned around to face the thief that had entered through the window, his loose white hair tugged by a gentle breeze. "That is, I invited Ryou."

"He's here too, of course," Bakura replied breezily as he climbed into Seto's room and out of the windowsill.

"I'd like to speak with him, if it's all the same to you."

"You are," Ryou replied, the two of them switching places with merely a blink.

"I want to… apologize," Kaiba said after a moment's hesitation. It was hard to admit that he'd done wrong, but he'd realized that his affair with Yami Bakura had been a tremendous violation of Ryou's rights. He'd chosen to ignore that, to let Bakura make him forget that, but he shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss the thought.

"It's okay, you don't have to," Ryou replied softly. "Like he said, we have an arrangement." He dropped his gaze, looking away as Seto studied his expression.

"And what would that arrangement be?" The brunette stepped forward, shrinking the distance that separated them.

"That's not important," Ryou said nervously, his gaze flicking back to Kaiba's. "You don't have to stop."

"No, I do have to stop. It's not right."

"We both need it," Bakura countered, taking a step forward before his host spoke again. "And I'm happy to be able to help." Ryou's voice was surprisingly calm. "It makes me feel useful."

To hear both of them speaking in the same sentence was disorienting to Kaiba, especially because he knew that Bakura could possibly be the only one talking to him, just faking his host as he was so skilled at doing.

"It's degrading—" Seto protested.

"It gives me purpose, and I… I care about helping you." Ryou blushed as he looked at his hands, fiddling with his fingers as he tried to keep his cool. Seto was still trying to understand what he meant.

"I don't need help," Seto contradicted automatically. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with this conversation, even more so than he'd expected.

"Yes you do."

Ryou crossed the remaining distance between them until they were almost touching, then he tilted his head back and aimed those big chocolate eyes at the young CEO.

"You don't like to admit that you're not entirely self-sufficient, but when it comes right down to it, nobody is."

He placed his hands on Seto's shoulders, firmly but gently pushing on them to make the taller teen step backwards as Ryou stepped forwards. Seto yielded to the pressure of his pushes out of curiosity more than anything. Where was he taking them?

"You don't even like to ask questions because it's an admission of ignorance."

Another step forward as the other stepped back, Ryou started to turn the other by ninety degrees.

"You've felt cold and sterile towards people for much of your life because you were conditioned to be that way."

Ryou kept pushing, and Seto kept yielding.

"You shut yourself away in an ivory tower, using your intellect and your wealth to shield you from all human relationships."

Seto tried to take another step back, but couldn't, having reached the edge of his bed. Ryou pushed him down so that Seto was now sitting before him, and the Brit lifted one hand to comb back the other's chestnut hair.

"That's not a healthy way to live, Seto. You need help, and you know it. You never would have carried on this long with Bakura if you didn't feel like you were missing out on something."

Kaiba's stern facade had faded by now, and he looked as vulnerable as he felt. He didn't have an answer to any of Ryou's statements. They were all true, and he spoke with such conviction that there was no persuading him otherwise.

"I'm not wrong," the white-haired teen murmured, a faint smile teasing at the corners of his mouth.

"No, you're not," the brunette admitted with a sigh. His expression betrayed the conflict, the confusion, the fear he felt. Ryou stepped between Seto's long legs and gently cradled his friend's head against him. He wasn't crying, but he clearly needed comfort, and he showed his appreciation by wrapping his arms around Ryou in an embrace to anchor them together. The standing teen continued to gently stroke the other's hair as the billionaire felt his world being turned upside down and inside out.

"So, may I help you?" Ryou asked softly, his insides quivering with anxiety. He bent down and kissed the top of Seto's head, hoping for a positive answer.

"Yes." Seto pulled back a little to look up at him curiously. "You said that you care about me. In what capacity?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The other teen blushed as he answered, but blushed even deeper as a long-fingered hand reached up to caress his cheek.

"You're more dangerous than Bakura," Kaiba observed softly. He watched the other's face as the eyes narrowed, and he knew that the thief was present.

"How can Yadonushi be more dangerous than me?" Bakura asked scornfully, refusing to believe such a thing. Seto winced at the cruel nickname.

"You can only render me physically helpless, Thief," he answered tartly. "Ryou has effectively rendered my soul helpless. Mental and emotional defenses are more difficult to overcome than physical ones."

"I think you're the first person to ever call me dangerous." Ryou seemed pleased by it, though, as well he should be. The brunette lifted his other hand to the back of Ryou's head and pulled him down into a brief, tender kiss.

"I fear the two of you will be my undoing," he confessed.

"The only way for us to fix you is if we undo you first," Ryou replied with a wink. "Like when you braid hair: if you mess up early on and still finish the braid, you have to undo the whole thing in order to fix the one mistake." He moved his hands back to Seto's shoulders and pushed him down until his back was flat on the bed. "Are you okay with being undone?"

"That depends," was his guarded answer as Ryou leaned down over him, the Millennium Ring brushing heavily across Seto's clothed chest.

"I could always blackmail you into it, you know," Bakura answered as he toyed with Seto's tie. "Remember all of that security footage I told you I erased?" Seto's eyes widened in horror as the thief chuckled. "Don't worry, I erased them, but not before I saved copies for myself. I'm sure your employees would love to see them, though. And Yugi too, for that matter."

"You're about as subtle as a steamroller, Bakura," Kaiba retorted, burning with embarrassment.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Ryou replied, embarrassed by his yami's threats. He wasn't embarrassed about watching the videos, though. It was his body and he had a right to know what had happened.

"At least you have a way to keep me honest."

"I don't doubt your honesty, Seto. It's more like a way to ensure your cooperation." Ryou smirked at him mischievously before placing a soft kiss on his parted lips.

"So I _am_ being blackmailed."

"That's determined entirely by your level of cooperation," he answered opaquely before they kissed again. They kissed longer this time as their breathing got quicker, shallower, more excited. By now, it didn't even matter whether Ryou or Bakura was kissing Seto. The brunette didn't even care that it was both of them. For once, they were moving and acting as one, much like Yami and Yugi when they dueled, but this was far more gratifying than any duel.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** (Please pardon Yami Bakura's sexism; that's him talking, not me, so please don't be offended by it.) I'm quite proud of myself for having Seto Kaiba angsting without explicit mention of Gozaburo, because I feel like I drag his step-father into the story every time I write Kaiba angst. Please review and let me know if you'd like to see more stuff like this!


	4. Chains

**"You got me in chains,  
You got me in chains for your love.  
** **But I wouldn't change,  
No, I wouldn't change this love.  
** **Try to break the chains but the chains only break me."**

 **~ _Chains_ by Nick Jonas**

* * *

"S-Seto!" Ryou gasped, arching into the brunette's touch. "Get me out of this right now, you bastard!"

Seto's hands on his body stilled as Bakura's harsh protest rang in his ears. He sighed as he sat back on his heels, watching the two souls war with each other for control of their body. Ryou had wanted to be handcuffed and blindfolded, and Seto had complied, albeit hesitantly. Ryou had wanted to use the REAL handcuffs, though. The ones that didn't have a safety button, so he couldn't release himself. The ones that even now were chafing his wrists and digging into his skin.

"Calm down, you're hurting yourself," he murmured, reaching for the key that he'd hung around his neck on a string. "Keep still so I can get you out."

"No!" Ryou was growing upset, but Bakura seemed pleased. "It's about bloody time." A growl sounded from the pale throat, and Seto thought it was Bakura's until he spoke again. "Why do you always do this to me, Bakura?"

"Hold still," Seto repeated, waiting for his struggle to cease before slipping the key into the hole and letting his wrists free. He removed the handcuffs from the bed completely, placing them and the key on the nightstand.

"You weren't supposed to give in to him," Ryou muttered as he rubbed his sore wrists before Bakura gained dominance full control. "But I'm glad you did." He tore off the blindfold and glared at the brunette, who simply watched him thoughtfully.

Seto always felt uncomfortable listening to the schizophrenic bickering between the two of them, and this was no exception. Knowing that he only ever heard a snippet of the whole conversation, he imagined that the internalized conflict was probably a contributing factor to Ryou's permanent stressful state. Just like for Seto, sex was Ryou's only release, the only time that he wasn't actively worried or fretful or preoccupied or fighting a headache. Or depressed. Ryou was the most troubled person Seto knew, besides himself.

Bakura brought Seto to himself by tackling the CEO and pinning him to the mattress. "Now we can have some _real_ fun," the thief purred, Seto's pulse throbbing beneath the spot where his lips were pressed to Seto's neck.

"No."

"What?" Bakura sat up and glared at Seto, who glared right back at him.

"I want to talk to Ryou." His chin jutted stubbornly, and it only took a moment for Bakura to realize that there was no way to win this argument.

"Oh, fine," the thief huffed in annoyance. His eyes and expression changed. Those big brown eyes blinked at him with sweet innocence as a soft voice said, "Yes?"

"Cut it out, Bakura." Seto pushed Bakura off of him and sat back comfortably against the pillows at the head of the bed. "Stop pretending and let me talk to him."

The sweet and innocent look softened into something tired and confused. For not the first time, Seto had to contemplate how similar the yami/hikari bond was to a multiple personality disorder. If it weren't for the magic, he'd think that Ryou was delusional. The Brit sighed softly and at Seto's silent beckoning crawled up the bed to lay down at his side. Seto put an arm around Ryou's narrow shoulders and held him close, making Ryou relax further and curl into Seto's side.

"Are you okay?" Seto asked at last. He was concerned for the quietest member of their unorthodox threesome, and he had good reason to be.

"No." Ryou closed his eyes for a moment and Seto took that opportunity to kiss the top of Ryou's head unseen.

"What's going on between you two? You've never acted like this before." That is, they'd never been so at odds with each other so as to enter into a physical struggle that hurt him.

"He's mad at me," Ryou answered slowly, staring down at Seto's chest. He lifted one delicate finger and began to trace tight circles around Seto's nearest nipple, making the brunette bite his lip for control.

"Why?" He couldn't keep the breathy rasp out of his voice.

Ryou was reluctant to answer. "Do you remember when I told you that Bakura and I had an arrangement that allowed for him to…" He faltered, then finished, "To be with you?"

Seto nodded wordlessly, trying not to groan as the pleasant scent of Ryou's shampoo tickled his nose and tried to distract him.

"Our deal was that I would let him sleep with _you_ so long as he left _me_ alone. For the longest time he…" Ryou started to chew on his bottom lip, not wanting to put into words what had happened behind closed soul-room doors.

"He hit on you?" Seto offered breathlessly as Ryou now plucked absent-mindedly at his lover's nipple. He let his hand fall to rest on Seto's stomach, which was firm with muscle.

"He wasn't nearly so subtle as that," Ryou scoffed, sounding bitter, which was rather unlike himself. "I told him that if he left me alone, he could do whatever he liked with you." His face grew hot with embarrassment and he tried to hide his blush by pressing his cheek to Seto's firm chest. "I wanted him to leave me alone, but besides that, I… I didn't really mind watching." His confession tapered off in a silent whisper, and he was afraid that he might lose esteem in Kaiba's eyes, but he just chuckled a little.

"Go on," Seto insisted, not wanting Ryou to feel self-conscious, as he was wont to do. "How does this explain why he's mad at you?"

"I wasn't exactly a _willing_ participant, so he once tried to bind my wrists, and I freaked out." Ryou swallowed hard. "I think he's… jealous, because I wanted to do it with you, but not him. So…" He shrugged indifferently, as if the interruption hadn't bothered him. "He didn't let me."

"Why did you want the real ones?"

"Because I didn't want him to let me out."

Seto put his other arm around his lover and pulled him close, kissing his cheek as Ryou sighed and nuzzled into him. This was something that his relationship with Bakura had never given him: an emotional connection, a sense of attachment. Ryou had been correct, of course: Kaiba _had_ felt like he was missing something all this time, that his life was lacking some unnamed crucial component. Ryou and Bakura, in their own Yin and Yang way, had filled that void for him.

"Why is he letting you tell me all of this?" Seto asked suddenly.

"He's probably in his soul-room tuning out the conversation." Ryou snorted derisively as he rolled his eyes. "His capacity for autoeroticism is rivaled only by his ability to infiltrate your mansion undetected." He could hear the echo of Kaiba's laughter through his chest. The sound warmed him down to his toes.

"I love how you clean up dirty concepts with intelligent vocabulary."

Ryou tilted his head back and smiled at Seto's crooked grin.

"I love that you're perceptive enough to appreciate it," he replied smoothly. Seto combed Ryou's hair away from his face and kissed him hungrily. Ryou reciprocated eagerly, and within moments Seto was rolling the paler figure beneath him. They kissed deep and hard as Seto's hands found Ryou's and tugged them up above his head, caging their fingers together as rolled his hips against Ryou's body. The sensual motion elicited a groan from the other, and they proceeded to make love without further interruption.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** I know I never really specify it for you all, but FYI, they're both totally naked for this whole scene. ;) Please review and let me know what you think!


	5. Satisfied

**"I know my sister like I know my own mind:  
** **You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind.  
** **If I tell her that I love him, she'd be silently resign,  
** **He'd be mine.  
** **She would say I'm fine.  
** **She'd be lying.**

 **But when I fantasize at night it's Alexander's eyes.  
** **As I romanticize what might have been,  
** **If I hadn't sized him up so quickly.  
** **At least my dear Eliza's his wife.  
** **At least I keep his eyes in my life.**

 **And I know she'll be happy as his bride.  
** **And I know you will be satisfied.  
** **I will never be satisfied."**

 **~ _Satisfied_ from "Hamilton" by Lin-Manuel Miranda**

* * *

Bathed in the harsh gleam of fluorescent lights and surrounded by the satisfying silence of overtime hours, Kaiba sat at his computer in his private executive office, working later than he'd planned. The sun was setting as he sent his brother a text to let him know that he wouldn't be home in time for dinner, but that he wouldn't be home too late. It was an urgent project, otherwise he would have gone home. Ryou was coming over tonight, and he didn't want to make him wait.

In the past few months, their relationship had slowly blossomed into something discrete, intimate, and beautiful. They were even romantic every now and then. They hadn't said "I love you" yet, but they'd gotten terribly close once, and it had scared them both a little. Kaiba didn't know if he could honestly say that he loved Ryou. He didn't know if what he felt was love, and he didn't know if he was even ready to say that he loved anyone besides Mokuba.

Kaiba feared very little in life. He feared losing Mokuba, which could happen in any number of ways: abduction, terminal illness, car accident. He didn't even fear Gozaburo anymore. Even when he was alive, he'd hated him more than he feared him.

Love was something that Kaiba truly feared. Love caused pain, suffering, loneliness, jealousy, insecurity, dissatisfaction. Love made you vulnerable. Love made you _dependent_.

Ryou had _already_ made him vulnerable, had satisfied his loneliness, had given him a sense of peace and satisfaction with his life. He was close, too close, but Kaiba didn't have the will to push him away. He wanted him to stay.

Seto scrolled through a spreadsheet with a frown, trying to gauge how much of this he needed to do at the office and how long it would take him. If he returned home soon enough, he could have a surprise awaiting Ryou. It was truly satisfying to see the way Ryou's eyes lit up and his face flushed and lips curved into a sweet smile when he was surprised with a thoughtful gift.

* * *

"Oh, thank you, Seto, they're lovely." Ryou stood on his toes, one hand Seto's shoulder to steady himself as he reached up to kiss the brunette's cheek. He buried his nose in the bouquet of white roses, closing his eyes as he reveled in the scent and sensation of the long-stem flowers. Seto just smiled and pecked the top of the Brit's head before turning away to step into his closet, beginning to untie his tie.

"How was your day?" Ryou carefully placed the roses in the red glass vase placed on the dresser, presumably for that purpose, since it was filled with fresh water.

"Busy. We're behind on a project because the programmers did a shoddy job. It didn't help that we lost some of them in the middle of the process, forcing us to work with fewer staff than usual."

As Seto kept speaking, Ryou slipped one white rose from the vase and toed off his sneakers, walking over to the large bed and taking a seat at the head of it. He pulled his legs up underneath him as he settled back into the plush pillows, fingers running over the soft, velvety petals.

"So the code was finished behind schedule, and the debugging is taking longer than usual, but we can't push back the release date without losing thousands of dollars, so I'm helping with the debugging. You know, between meetings and conference calls and _everything_ else. Anyways, how was your day?"

"Long and slow and exhausting." Ryou sighed, sinking further down into the pillows as he closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't like people, and professors should learn to email their students when class is canceled, or else we all just show up and awkwardly wait for fifteen minutes before we figure it out," he grumbled. "I'm so tired."

Seto chuckled, still out of sight as he shed his work clothes and changed into something more comfortable.

"Do you want me to send for some tea?" Seto asked. Ryou loved tea. The only kinds he didn't like were hibiscus or lemon tea, unless it was lemon-ginger, and he preferred to drink a certain "sleepytime" tea blend in the evenings; it was surprising even to himself that Seto knew Ryou's taste in tea so well. It was the kind of thing you just learned over time. Kaiba didn't hear an answer, and when he stepped out of his walk-in closet, he say that Ryou had fallen asleep, curled up at the base of the pillows like a cat, with the rose bloom still resting against his nose. Seto approached the bed and rested his forearms against the covers as he leaned over it. He kissed Ryou's forehead and pulled away, fetching his laptop bag from the foot of the bed before sitting down beside Ryou with his laptop so he could get some work done.

If Ryou was tired enough that he fell asleep in the middle of their conversation, then Seto would let him sleep. He worked on the code, eyes skimming lines of symbols as he occasionally stroked Ryou's soft hair.

Working like this was infinitely more pleasant than working alone in his office.

If he'd known what was happening in Ryou's soul-room, though, he would have woken him up without hesitation.

* * *

Ryou gasped as Bakura slapped him across the face. His hand went up to caress the stinging patch of hot red skin, too stunned to speak. He was still stunned when Bakura shoved his hikari to the floor, Ryou landing with a sharp cry as he made contact with the floor.

"What—"

"You've been greedy, Yadonushi." Bakura walked forward and stood over Ryou, his shadow falling over the other's body. "I want my share."

He knelt beside Ryou, who was too scared to move at first. Bakura roughly stripped him of his jeans and boxers, tossing them aside carelessly. Ryou started to scramble away, but Bakura was quick to grab his hips and hold him in place.

"Stop!" Ryou cried, trying to knee Bakura in the stomach, but the thief was stronger and faster. Growling, he released Ryou with one hand, then brought down his fist on Ryou's chest hard enough to stun him and knock the air out of his lungs. He flipped Ryou onto his stomach and opened his pants, releasing an engorged erection. Ryou had given up by now. He just squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember how to breathe as Bakura placed his hands on Ryou's shoulders, firmly pinning Ryou to the floor.

Ryou wanted to say something, anything, but he didn't know what. Nothing he said would make a difference.

"I never should have given you a chance with Kaiba," Bakura growled before he forced his way inside Ryou's tight passage, his hikari screaming.

* * *

Ryou awoke with a start, breathless, disoriented, feeling as if he'd been falling backwards. He could feel his heart pounding as he lay still, trying to catch his breath. He felt fingers moving gently through his hair and heard the soft tapping of a computer keyboard, and he tried to let those sensations soothe him. They weren't enough, though. Then the tapping stopped.

"You're awake."

Ryou tilted his head back to look up at the brunette, whose face was eerily illuminated by the glow of his laptop screen. Ryou didn't know what expression he was wearing, but it seemed to cause Kaiba concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I only got three hours of sleep last night."

As Ryou started to sit up, Seto removed his fingers from his lover's hair and closed his laptop, sliding it back into its case and letting that rest on the floor. His device now safely set aside, he could turn his full attention on Ryou, who was now sitting up a little in front of him, his body turned to face him even though his eyes seemed fixed on empty space.

"That doesn't answer my question." Seto pulled himself back up closer to the pillows behind him since he'd slid down into a slouch while he was working.

Ryou gave a shuddering sigh. He tipped forward to lean into Seto, who caught him with ease. Seto was sitting on the left side of the bed, and Ryou's legs were pointing off to the right as his forehead came to rest against Kaiba's nearest shoulder. Seto put one arm around him, then a second, confused by the Brit's melancholy mood. Ryou closed his eyes and reached up with his right hand to find Kaiba's other shoulder, feeling like he might sink into the bed itself if he didn't hold onto something. He could feel the soft pressure of Kaiba kissing the top of his head—a gesture that Ryou adored—and snuggled closer to him.

"You're shaking," Seto observed softly.

Ryou's eyes watered. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"You're upset."

He nodded slowly; that much he _could_ do.

"Was it something that _I_ did?"

"No."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." He managed to answer his question without betraying how close he was to weeping.

"Okay."

Seto wasn't going to push him, but he would hold him close and rub his back and let him cry, because that's the kind of relationship they had: they approached each other in trust; they rested, they leaned, they gave, they accepted, they offered, they received. It was all so tentative, both of them afraid to break the other, or else be shut out. They didn't pressure or push or shove or force or take or demand or seize, which was such a contrast to Kaiba's previous relations with Bakura that it made him wonder.

Kaiba didn't pretend to know what he was supposed to say in this kind of situation. He said nothing at all, but hugged Ryou close and tight, resting his cheek against his soft white hair, hushing him when his sobs became vocal, whatever it took to placate him. It wasn't until Ryou stopped crying that Seto realized he'd been rocking him side to side. Surprised and a little confused, he stopped. Ryou took a deep breath, then let it out before pulling back a little to look up at Seto. His eyes were red, his hair was rumpled, and his cheeks were stained with salt, but he still looked beautiful. Seto lifted his hand to cup Ryou's cheek, using the pad of his thumb to brush away one last stray tear.

"I'm sorry," Ryou murmured, feeling guilty now for having spoiled the evening. "I didn't mean to fall apart like that."

"Don't apologize." Ryou felt like he was going to burn under Seto's intense blue gaze. "You did nothing wrong." The first time Kaiba had told Ryou not to apologize, he'd added that it was a sign of weakness; Ryou had questioned whether he truly believed that, or if it was simply what he'd been taught.

Ryou didn't have an answer, so he remained quiet, and Seto did too. They were both like that, only speaking when spoken to or when they had a real purpose in doing so; meanwhile, Anzu could babble on about nothing at all for hours and feel no compulsion to just shut up. Their faces were close, almost touching, but neither of them made any move to pull away. Seto's seemed on the verge of speech, so Ryou waited as the gears turned in his mind.

"I love you."

Ryou's eyes immediately filled with tears, and he threw his arms around Seto's neck as he started to cry again. Not a trace of shame or guilt or hesitation in his voice, just the clear, certain, confident conviction of a declaration of love spoken from the heart. It was just what Ryou needed at the moment.

"Did I do something wrong?" Now Kaiba was thoroughly perplexed. Why was he crying again? He'd wanted to help Ryou _stop_ crying, but he seemed to have only made things worse. He still held Ryou in a secure embrace, trying to think of what more he should do.

"No, Seto," Ryou sighed, sounding almost wistful. "You did something absolutely, completely, perfectly _right_." He pulled back again to give Seto a bittersweet smile. "I love you too."


	6. Sacrifice

**"I will find you in a burning sky,**  
 **where the ashes rain in your mind.**  
 **Oh, oh, sacrifice.  
If we're closer to the other side,  
and the heavens all start to cry,  
Oh, oh, sacrifice."**

 ** _~Sacrifice_** **by Zella Day**

* * *

Ryou was writing a paper in the basement of the college library, a pair of chunky teal headphones on his head that cancelled even the sound of his own typing. This desk—his favorite desk in the whole library—was tucked into the corner between the back wall and a bookcase stocked with Russian literature. There was only one way to approach the desk—head on—which meant that people didn't usually come close enough to bother him. Even if someone was on the other side of the folding shelves getting books, even speaking with a friend or study partner, it wouldn't distract him.

In the library, the basement was the coolest place in the summer and the warmest place in the winter. Warm air rose, yes, but on the upper levels, the windows were a lot bigger and draftier, and there were more of them. Even so, Ryou had his black, fingerless, knit gloves on to keep his hands from getting cold and stiff. Despite the comfortable temperatures in the basement, it was the quietest, least populated place on campus.

He'd had plans with Seto for tonight, but he'd warned him that he would be at the mansion late. He never did homework at the Kaiba mansion. If his psych prof was right—and he believed that she was—then doing homework in a location separate from where he did recreational things would keep him focused while working and less stressed while relaxing. It was a matter of association, and it seemed to be helping. It certainly didn't hurt.

A movement above the shelf of the desk-back in front of him caught his eyes. A smiling undergrad was approaching him with a platter of chocolate chip cookies. He looked up and pulled off his headphones.

"Would you like a cookie?"

"Yes thank you." He reached out and plucked one from the offered plate.

"Good luck with your finals!"

"Thanks, you too."

She turned to leave, and Ryou rocked back in his chair as he bit into the cookie, deciding to take a break for a few minutes. He was dusting the crumbs off his fingers when he heard his phone buzzing. He partially closed his laptop screen and picked up his phone, which had been tucked securely behind his PC.

"Hi Seto."

"How much longer are you going to work on that paper?"

"I wanted to get another page done before I called it a night."

"How much longer do you think that'll take?"

"That depends on how well I can keep my mind on task," Ryou answered, a little embarrassed. "After staring at this for as long as I have, none of it makes much sense to me anymore."

"Then you'll be more productive if you just call it a night and get a fresh start tomorrow," Kaiba asserted, his tone brisk and professional. "Now get out here so we can go home."

"Wait—You're here?" That hadn't been part of the plan.

"Yes, I'm right outside the library. You don't need anything from your dorm, do you?"

Ryou had already stood and was pulling his chair up against the wall behind it.

"No, I have all I need in your closet or in my backpack."

He stood on the chair and peeked out of the small, semi-circle window that gave him just enough of a view to show him Kaiba's car parked on the sidewalk in their spot. It wasn't technically "theirs" but it was where Kaiba picked him up or dropped him off whenever he visited campus.

"I can see you!" Ryou waved at the blue car, the windows too tinted him to see if Seto waved back.

"I can see you too, but I'd much rather kiss you. Come on."

"Alright. I'll be there in a heartbeat."

* * *

"Your chef makes the best hot chocolate." Ryou held his mug in both hands as he set it in his lap and rested his forehead against Kaiba's shoulder. "How come your hot chocolate looks different from mine?"

"Because there's more than one way to make excellent hot chocolate."

Ryou's interest now piqued, he asked, "Can I try it?"

Kaiba's lips twisted into a smirk, his eyes reflecting the light of the fire that burned in the hearth at their backs. "Sure." He surprised Ryou when he leaned in for an open-mouthed kiss, but Ryou only remained so for a split second before he flicked his tongue forward to meet Seto's.

The first thing he tasted was the intoxicating extract of peppermint, then, with further probing, the smooth, semisweet bitterness of dark chocolate, the kind of dark chocolate that's black as sin. When you took a bite, the chocolate bit back. And when Ryou trapped Seto's tongue between his teeth, Seto withdrew enough to nip Ryou's bottom lip. Then he pulled away completely, looking smug as he took another sip of his hot chocolate.

"How was it?"

"Really good." A wide smile was plastered on Ryou's face as he replied.

"Are you sure you're not too hot in that sweater?" Kaiba asked in concern. "Between the fire and the heating and the hot chocolate, I really don't think it's necessary."

"I'm sure; I feel fine."

"Your face is flushed."

"I'm sure there are other reasons for that," Ryou dismissed, his eyelashes lowered bashfully.

"You're burning up." Kaiba cupped Ryou's cheek with an open palm, making Ryou gasp and jerk back slightly.

"Your hands are freezing," he explained, flustered.

"Only because you're so hot."

Kaiba took the small mug from Ryou's grasp and stood, setting both cups on the mantelpiece before pulling Ryou to his feet, grabbing the hem of his loose, plush sweater, and pulling the garment off over his head. Ryou's hair popped out of the neckline, more fluffed than before and in a charming disarray.

"Is that better?"

"Yeah, I think so." Ryou gently took his grey sweater from Kaiba's hands and folded it over his arm before reaching for his mug. They sat together with their backs to the fire, and this time Kaiba draped his arm over Ryou's shoulders. Ryou was quick to drain the last of his drink and set the ceramic aside so he could lean into Kaiba's side and close his eyes without risk of spilling or dropping anything. The Millennium Ring around his neck dimly reflected the firelight, but, to Ryou's relief, it glowed with no light of its own. The firelight was the _only_ light in the room.

Yugi may have upgraded his Millennium Puzzle to a chain in order to protect it from theft, but Ryou had no reason to do so with the Millennium Ring. Even if it was stolen, it would return. Even if it didn't return, he wouldn't want it back.

A soft metallic clink made Ryou open his eyes to see Seto's finger knocking the prongs together as if they were wind chimes. Ryou slipped the string from around his neck, Kaiba catching the artifact in his hand and pressing it to Ryou's as his fingers tangled with the strings. Their palms pressed together with the gold between them, a sadness settling over Ryou's shoulders like a mantle.

"What are you thinking about?" Kaiba pressed his forehead to Ryou's, eyes burning brighter and bluer than the pilot light of the gas fireplace.

"I'm thinking... that you were right when you said I was too hot. That I should try to duplicate this hot chocolate recipe. That I'm glad nobody else get's to see you like this, all sweet and romantic. But I'm sad so many people misjudge you."

"I've told you before: their opinions don't matter to me if _they_ don't matter to me." He shrugged indifferently, then carefully took the Ring from his hand and stood. He approached his bookcase and opened a small black chest on a middle shelf, the hiding spot where they'd taken to sequestering the Ring for safety. It was also the chest where Kaiba kept his .38 caliber pistol—a device that Ryou never touched, and was never _supposed_ to touch unless there was an emergency. The same rules applied to the .22 in his nightstand. Ryou would retrieve the Ring before he left, and it was always the last thing he did before they parted. Since they'd started putting it there, Bakura no longer invaded his mind at night when he slept at the mansion, but he would still do so at the dorm.

That being the case, Ryou tried to sleepover with Kaiba as often as he could get away with doing.

"I think you still look too flushed." Kaiba was leaning back against the bookcase, studying Ryou from a distance.

"Still too many layers, hm?" Ryou teased.

"My thoughts exactly." His voice was low and textured, and they'd been together long enough that Ryou knew _exactly_ what that meant.

Ryou stood and crossed his arms as he reached for the hem of his tight black shirt. He pulled it up the length of his body with slow, purposeful movements, and while it was still wrapped around his head, he felt Kaiba tugging on the fabric until Ryou's pale hair fell around his shoulders with the sound of static. His shirt disappeared—Ryou didn't see what Kaiba did with it before his thick arms were around his waist and pulling him close to Kaiba's front. Ryou let his body arch back a little as the brunette pressed his lips to Ryou's throat, his hair falling back and out of the way as he dropped his head back too. Sometimes Ryou would tie his hair back in a bun or ponytail, but Kaiba always let it loose when they became intimate. Ryou was flattered that Kaiba liked his hair as much as he did.

Ryou's hands had gone straight to Kaiba's shoulders when he was lassoed into his arms. Kaiba pulled him closer as he nipped at the tender skin of his neck, and as Ryou hummed with pleasure, his fingers fluttered to the top buttons of Seto's shirt.

"I think you're the one wearing too many clothes, now," he murmured. Kaiba bit hard at his neck, and Ryou gasped, his hips hitching into Seto's. His mouth was still open as Kaiba lifted his head to kiss Ryou properly once more. Ryou managed to finish unbuttoning Kaiba's shirt and push it off his broad shoulders so that the crinkled cotton pooled on the floor behind him.

Ryou pressed into the heat of Kaiba's chest as they kissed, the brunette's body as hot as a furnace, chasing away the chill. He still shivered, though, and that was when Kaiba moved them to the bed Ryou lay on his back as Kaiba tugged off the rest of his clothes, lifting his hips from the mattress as he wriggled from his jeans. Then he sat up and reached for Kaiba's belt buckle, undoing it and slipping his hand into his pants before he could stop him. Kaiba hissed as Ryou's cold fingers wrapped around his hardening member and squeezed.

"Damn."

Ryou dipped his head down and pressed a small kiss to Seto's navel, his breath hot on his lover's hard abs. Ryou finished undoing Seto's pants, giving his hand more room to maneuver. It took little effort on Seto's part for him to drop his pants, for once the belt and zipper were undone they slipped from his narrow waist with ease. Ryou was still teasing him, but Kaiba saw the goosebumps running down his pale arms and decided to have mercy on him. He reluctantly removed Ryou's hand from is briefs and pulled the covers out from under Ryou, let him sit on the sheets instead of the bedspread as Kaiba bent down to grab some things from the bottom drawer of the bedside table. When he straightened up, Ryou had pulled the sheets back far enough to make room for both of them and had his hand around his own member now, his eyes glued to his lover.

"Let me," was all Kaiba said as he slipped in beside Ryou, his hand replacing the other's as he kissed him again. Ryou eased onto his back and Kaiba moved to hover over him, stimulating him with steady strokes of his hand, teasing him with little swirls of his thumb. Little whines and moans sounded from the pale mass writhing atop his black sheets, and Kaiba treasured every sound. He lowered his head and found one pink nipple with his tongue, giving it a playful nip. Ryou's hands found short brown hair and held it tightly, only to have Kaiba release him and shift further down the bed, parting Ryou's legs and gingerly resting between them.

"A-Ah!" Ryou arched upwards as Seto's lips fluttered across his thighs, interspersed with little flicks of his warm tongue. Seto lifted one creamy leg over his shoulder, hesitated, then pulled the sheet over his head, tossing it up as far as Ryou's chest.

"Seto, what—?"

"Sh. I'm hiding."

A merry laugh bubbled up out of Ryou's throat. Only Kaiba could say something so puerile and make it sound like the most charming thing you've ever heard. His laughter halted with a sharp gasp as Kaiba gently bit his flesh.

"H-Harder," he pleaded, and Kaiba obliged until little blue bruises bloomed from his teeth-marks. Ryou was gripping the sheet with both hands, clutching it to himself as he started panting, his body tingling with heat for now, but he knew he'd feel the chill later. Kaiba teased with his teeth and tongue until Ryou was quivering with need, at which point he managed to grab the bottle of lube and bonked Seto on the head with it through the sheet. When he pulled the silk back, Kaiba was grinning a naughty smile.

"More," Ryou ordered like a demanding five-year-old, his face red and his brain too numb to form a true sentence. He hadn't been with Kaiba all week, thanks to his upcoming finals. As such, he was more eager than usual.

"I'm sure you're capable of being more polite than that."

"Please." Ryou drew out the single syllable with a whine, still sounding child-like. Kaiba chuckled at him as he reached for the condom on the nightstand.

"I'm not going to say no to you." Kaiba sat up, lowering Ryou's leg and lifting the other one up so that the hollow of his knee clamped down over his solid shoulder. "But I'm still going to make you beg for it."

He sheathed himself in latex before lubing his finger and wriggling it into Ryou's entrance. He took his time, stretching him carefully and making sure they were both well lubricated before entering him properly. Ryou wrapped both legs around Kaiba's waist as he pulled the sheet up to cover them. He began to move with slow, steady thrusts, Ryou's fingers circling over his back as he started to moan.

Ryou suddenly threw his head back against the pillow with a small cry, sweat just starting to dampen down his bangs as stars danced in his vision, pleasure shooting through every inch of his body. It was like being shocked with lightning right in the groin. Just as he was starting to catch his breath, it happened again, and again. Ryou was encouraging Kaiba with sweet groans, biting hard on his shoulder, fingers scratching at his shoulder blades as he tried to wait. Then he gave up and reached for himself, but Kaiba grabbed his hands before he could reach his goal.

"Not fair!" he whined as Kaiba's fingers laced with his own.

"I said I would make you beg, didn't I?" He sounded smug, but breathless. He'd stopped thrusting, but he sounded like he was struggling too. He resumed rolling his hips against Ryou, his aim helped by the angle of Ryou's hips. The thighs he lay between were twitching, clenching around him as he approached his peak. Ryou's moans were just starting to reach a fevered pitch when he pulled out.

"No, no, no." Ryou was whining again, and he would have stroked himself if only his hands were free; he bucked his hips, trying to find stimulation along Seto's stomach, but he arched away from him.

"You shouldn't be in such a rush."

"Screw you." Ryou loosened his legs and kicked the mattress in defiance, trying to glare at Seto, but failing miserably.

"I'd much rather screw _you_."

And with that, they started another long, slow climb that brought them painfully close to the edge, only to have Seto pull out again and continue to keep Ryou's hands pinned by his head.

"No, no, no, _NO!_ " Ryou pounded his heels into Kaiba's back as he kicked and bucked, Seto needing to arch further away in order to keep Ryou in suspense.

"You're as greedy as a child," Seto observed, sounding pleased as he watched his lover throw a fit.

"You're... horrible!" Ryou panted, sweat droplets sliding down the side of his face. Seto's forehead shone with a sheen of sweat too, his chest heaving with each breath as he studied the way Ryou's pale skin flushed so prettily with every beat of his heart as he waited for completion.

"You're beautiful."

Ryou was too busy squirming helplessly to answer him. Kaiba waited another minute or two before starting again. A sound resembling a sob tore from Ryou's throat.

"Don't you _dare_ hold out on me this time!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Seto answered softly. He'd already reached his own limit. This time, he was all in. This time, when they were close, Seto released Ryou's hand and relished in his scream as he finally came, seed spilling over both their stomachs. Kaiba arched, shuddered, then came just as Ryou, twitching, trembling, whimpering, slid back to earth in a puddle of erotic pleasure. Ryou closed his eyes, every little touch burned on his sensitive skin as Seto withdrew and moved aside. He felt cool silk on his stomach and his hands, and moments later he was being wrapped up in Kaiba's thick arms. Ryou cooed soft approval, sinking into him like a cat sinking into a plush pillow as it settled down for a nap.

"You're the best," he whispered, and kissed the nearest skin he could find.

"Hmmm..." Kaiba couldn't remember a single moment of his life when he felt any happier than he did right now.

* * *

 **Author Notes** : At my college last semester, a girl went around in the library (basement included) two class days before finals passing out cookies. Yum. Also, writing the hot chocolate scene inspired me, so I made some hot chocolate of my own with 100% cacao chocolate bar, KaibaCorp milk, cocoa powder, stevia, and peppermint extract. ^_^ KaibaCorp milk? What's that, you ask? Google it. ;)

This chapter was supposed to be longer, but then it was getting close to 5k words, which is too long for one chapter in this story, so I chopped out the second bit and moved it to the next chapter, so that one will be coming out soon.

I **_promise_ ** I'll post the next chapter of _Let Me Soothe You_ before I do anything else! After these election results, we're _all_ going to need something to cheer us up... :/


	7. Helpless

**"I'm just sayin'  
if you really loved me  
you would share him** **."**

 ** _~Helpless_** **by Lin-Manuel Miranda**

* * *

Ryou would have thought that he could sleep for a week after sex like that, but he awoke an hour later shivering. His extremities were cold, and pressing up against Kaiba's body and snuggling together under the blankets just weren't enough to keep him satisfactorily warm.

Did he dare leave Kaiba's embrace and risk the cold scamper from the bed to the closet in order to uncover a set of soft pajamas and fuzzy socks that would keep him warm? Or would he stay here and _stay_ warm, instead of being cold briefly in order to obtain more heat? Did he really want to risk waking Kaiba? He glanced up at his partner, who was sleeping like a stone, and that decided it. With extreme care, Ryou climbed over Seto—noticing in the process that the brunette had put on his briefs before falling asleep, and envying him—then slipped out of bed. The floors were heated here, which was a blessing, but the rest of him was still cold, so he scampered to their shared closet just as he'd planned. It took him thirty seconds to clumsily dress before he joined Seto in bed, carefully moving over him as he had before. This time, though, his socks slipped on the silk and he landed on the brunette with an "oomph."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to wake you." His quiet apologies were swift and soft as he shifted off of him. "I was just cold."

"Hmmm..." Kaiba put an arm around him and pulled him close, and Ryou couldn't help but think that the gesture reminded him of a child reaching for his favorite teddy bear. "You seem to get cold a lot."

"It's December; what would you expect?"

Ryou closed his eyes, ready to go back to sleep, but in those moments, Bakura's behavior these past several weeks floated to the top of his mind. He tried to push it aside, but it wouldn't leave him alone.

Shouldn't he know what was happening? Wouldn't Ryou want to know if there roles were reversed?

"Seto, can I talk to you about something?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course." Kaiba sounded half asleep, but he made an effort to rouse himself and make his mind more alert. "What's on your mind?"

"Do you remember..." Ryou faltered and took a deep breath to steel his nerves. "Do you remember the first time we said we loved each other?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember how I fell asleep while we were talking, and how I cried when I woke up?"

"Yes. You were tired, and you'd had a bad day." Even though he said the words, he felt that his perception was about to be corrected.

"It was more than just that. During my nap, Bakura..." Ryou winced, and pressed his face into Seto's bare chest. Gods, he was warm. He was always so warm...

"What did he do to you?" His question was had, edged with anger, but the hand he used to stroke Ryou's hair was gentle.

"He... He did what he's been wanting do for a long time," he whispered slowly, putting a clean face on it. "I told you that he tried before. He had mercy on me then, but... Well, it's been happening infrequently since then. I didn't want to upset you, which is why I didn't tell you sooner, but we've been together this long and I just feel like you need to know. Please don't let me keep rambling." Ryou hid his face and closed his eyes, waiting for a reaction.

"He has no right to hurt you," Seto growled, still stroking Ryou's hair as if the action soothed both of them.

"If that's the price I have to pay to be with you, then so be it," he said with a small shrug.

Seto stopped petting his lover and lifted a large hand to Ryou's cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing over Ryou's temple as he studied his lover's face intently, as he would a bit of computer code he was trying to understand. Blue eyes burned so close to his face that Ryou almost forgot how to breathe. He closed his eyes again and leaned into Seto's touch, just wanting this moment to last forever.

"Ryou."

"I don't think you understand how much this means to me," Ryou interrupted, opening his eyes before Kaiba could continue. Cheeks turning pink, he murmured, "I loved you long before Bakura started sleeping with you, and he knew that. You're a dream come true—No, better. You're _better_ than I ever _hoped_ you'd be. But I don't pretend that anything in life is free. Everything has a cost, and if this is the cost, then I can accept that, because you're worth it. You're worth it to me, Seto."

"You deserve better than that."

" _You_ are better than I deserve, but I have you." Ryou hesitated, not even sure what he'd planned on saying next. "And if I have you, then... I can have that too."

Kaiba shook his head disapprovingly. "That's not how that works, Ryou. You can't just decide that you deserve to be punished for being happy. I'm not going to let him do this to you."

"I mean no offense, but there isn't anything you can do to stop him. It is what it is. I'm not asking you to change it, I just thought you should know."

"I can't allow you to continue this, Ryou." Kaiba started to sit up, looking down at his partner with a look of concern.

"Nobody can stop him from getting what he wants, Kaiba. Not even you." Ryou hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but the words were out, and he regretted it. "Don't worry about me, okay? Just go back to sleep."

Ryou was pulling the blankets up around his shoulders once more when he felt a hand return to his cheek. Seto didn't say anything, but pressed his forehead to Ryou's. The Brit had just opened his mouth to speak when a wave of darkness rose from behind his eyes and flooded his consciousness.

The next thing he knew, he was on the floor in his soul room, and he wasn't alone.

"How did you do that?" he asked as he sat up, rubbing his throbbing head. Why did it hurt so much?

"Will power," Seto answered, doing the same, then getting to his feet and reaching out to Ryou to help him up.

"That figures," he grumbled, standing and leaning into the brunette's chest as light-headedness made the room spin around him. "If anybody could invade someone else's soul room through sheer force of will, it would be you."

"So it worked?"

"It sure looks like it, but why—?"

"So you've come to challenge me for the right to be Yadonushi's lover?"

Kaiba turned around at the sound of an all-too-familiar voice, keeping an arm around Ryou's shoulders in a possessive gesture that happened to also help him keep his balance.

"I suppose you could put it that way." The soft-spoken, romantic, sentimental aspect of Seto was long gone. He was all business, now.

"You might as well give up, then." Bakura crossed his arms and stood with his feet planted firmly, smirking at the both of them. "I'm a part of him. I'm inside his mind. I'm attached to his soul. There's nothing you can do to stop me, nothing you have that could bribe me, nothing I want that I don't already have."

"You want the Millennium Items, don't you?" Kaiba asked coolly. Ryou stiffened and looked up at Seto's eyes, trying to read his expression. Meanwhile, Bakura had widened his eyes slightly before narrowing them to glare at him again.

"Keep talking."

"You have the Millennium Ring, but Yugi has the Puzzle, the Rod, and the Necklace. If I could get you one of those, would you swear to leave Ryou alone from this point forward?"

"Hmm." Bakura hadn't expected Kaiba to make a decent offer. " _If_ you can bring me a Millennium Item, I'll consider it. Until then—" Bakura's eyes met Ryou's, and he crooked one finger beckoning him forward. Ryou knew too well to stay away, but he was still reluctant to leave Kaiba's embrace. He was slow to move away from the brunette, and as he did, Kaiba tried to decide if he was going to snatch him away from Bakura's greedy clutches. Bakura grabbed Ryou by the arm just as Seto took a step forward to do the same. With a thought and a flick of his wrist, Bakura trapped Kaiba inside a glass pyramid, similar to the one that Marik had been trapped in by his dark side during Battle City.

"Hey! Let me out!" Kaiba furiously pounded both fists against the glass, but with no effect.

"You're a trespasser," Bakura sneered at him.

"No more so than you are!" Kaiba snapped back.

Ryou closed his eyes and turned his face away from both of them. He hated the anger, the violence, the insults. He wished it would all just end. He didn't want Bakura touching him, putting an arm around his waist to secure him at his side. He didn't want Kaiba trapped behind glass, forced to watch whatever happened next. He just wanted to find himself in Seto's arms and go back to sleep. He wanted this nightmare to be over.

"I usually go easy on him," Bakura lied with slow, measured tones, his arm so tight around Ryou's waist that his stomach hurt. "But just for you, Kaiba, I think I'll put on a show."

* * *

Ryou jerked awake in a cold sweat, feverish and shivering. Kaiba felt sick to his stomach when he opened his eyes, but he ignored the feeling and rolled over to face Ryou.

"Are you alright?"

After what Seto'd seen in his soul room, it sounded like a ridiculous question to ask. Of course he wasn't alright. How on earth _could_ he be? Ryou moaned and closed his eyes, looking like he was in pain.

"Please say something," Seto murmured, lifting a hand to touch Ryou's cheek.

"I'll be fine, I just want to sleep," he muttered without opening his eyes.

"How do you feel?"

"Awful."

"How can I help?"

"Just let it be, Seto. Let it be."

"You're mad at me." A quiet observation, but Kaiba actually hoped he was wrong.

"You shouldn't have interfered. I can handle him."

"That's not why you're mad."

"I don't want you stealing the Millennium Items from Yugi." He opened his eyes finally to look at Seto. "I don't know why Bakura wants them, but they're powerful and dangerous. The last thing he needs is more power." He studied Seto's face for a few moments. "Promise me that you won't steal them."

"I promise."

"Or send someone else to steal them for you."

"I promise."

"Or—"

"I get it, Ryou." Seto used his fingers to comb Ryou's bangs back off his forehead, then pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "I won't do anything of the sort."

"Okay." He sounded relieved.

"You feel like you're running a fever."

"I'm sure I'm fine."

"He's doing this to you, isn't he?"

"Probably."

They were silent for a little while before Seto started unbuttoning Ryou's pajama shirt. Ryou didn't protest, but was grateful for the cooler air on his skin. Ryou continued to suffer from the fever, and Seto held him all night long.

* * *

 **Author Note** : As I wrote through the smut, I stumbled upon a plot.  
It looked up at me and said, "You know, I'm pretty good. I bet they'd like to read me."  
I responded, "I'm not sure I have the time for all that..."  
He retorted, "But you know you hated that last episode of YGO and would like to fix it, so here's your chance: take me or leave me."  
"I'll take you."

So, it's not over, there's more to come, but I don't know how long it'll take or when it'll happen. I hope you find it more satisfying that way. Don't worry, I'll keep up the smut even as the plot happens.


	8. All I Want For Christmas Is You

**"I just want you for my own,  
** **More than you could ever know,  
** **Make my wish come true,  
** **All I want for Christmas is you."**

 **~ _All I Want For Christmas Is You_ by Mariah Carey**

* * *

When morning came, Ryou felt less ill, but discomfort still hung in the air between them. Ryou tried to leave, pleading schoolwork as his excuse, but Kaiba convinced him to stay by showing him the mansion's library and letting him study there. Ryou spent the day with his nose in his books, taking a few brief naps on the couch by the fireplace. Kaiba could tell that Ryou needed his space, so he stayed away, ordering for his guest to be brought lunch and anything else he requested. Ryou was gathering together his things preparing to leave when Kaiba finally came to see him. Ryou hadn't heard Kaiba approaching, so when he turned around, arms full of books, he bumped right into the brunette and immediately became flustered.

"Oh, sorry, I-I didn't know you were there," Ryou stammered as he stared at Kaiba's chest.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes." Ryou wished that he could answer without sounding so breathless. Kaiba gently took Ryou's chin between forefinger and thumb to tilt his head back so that their eyes could meet.

"Stay." It wasn't an order or command, but a request.

"I-I can't," Ryou murmured, finding it hard to breathe with Seto looking at him like he was dying of thirst and Ryou was the first oasis he'd seen in days. Seto leaned closer until their lips almost touched, but then he stopped and hovered a hair's breadth away from him.

"Please."

Ryou melted and closed the distance between them, surrendering the fight against his heart.

* * *

Seto felt that after last night's fiasco, he had to prove himself to Ryou, make it up to him somehow. He wasn't above submission in a controlled environment with someone he trusted; his affair with Bakura was a testimony to that. This time, however, it would be different. Bakura had dominated him without asking for anything, and Kaiba had allowed it because he'd secretly wanted it. This time, he needed to be the one to take the first step, and while it would bruise his pride to do so, he trusted Ryou enough to believe it to be worthwhile.

Ryou bit his lip anxiously as he sat back on his heels, looking down at Kaiba with glittering eyes and shallow breath.

"Should I-"

"Be yourself," Seto interrupted, anticipating his question. "Because you're the one I want."

Ryou needed no futher prompting, and seized Seto's lips in a firm kiss as he pushed him down, their teeth knocking together hard enough to bruise their lips.

* * *

Ryou held the wrapped box tightly in his hands as he walked to Seto's room. This was the last time they'd be seeing each other before Christmas, so Ryou thought it best to bring his present along now. Better to give it to him before the holidays than after, right? Still, he didn't know how well Seto would like it, so he couldn't help but be a little nervous about it. He cradled the box in one arm as he knocked on Kaiba's bedroom door. He never entered without knocking unless Kaiba himself was with him, even though they were quite close. It was a matter of courtesy and a force of habit.

"Come in, Ryou," the brunette called from the other side of the door, knowing that his lover was the only one allowed to disturb him right now.

Ryou opened the door as much as was necessary for him to slip inside before he closed it and locked it behind him—something they did whenever they didn't want to be bothered. Kaiba's door had a heavier lock on it than the average bedroom door, or even the average college dorm room.

"It's nice to see you," Seto murmured as he stepped close to Ryou and dropped a kiss on his forehead.

"Nice to see you too," Ryou breathed, heart already fluttery. They hadn't seen each other since last weekend, and it hurt to be apart for so long as that.

"What's this?" Kaiba asked curiously, plucking at the ribbon on the top of the box that Ryou still held as carefully as if it were an infant.

"Your present." Ryou held it out to Seto as he sheepishly dropped his gaze. "Merry Christmas."

Seto took it from his hands with the same care that Ryou handled it and gave Ryou a proper kiss.

"Thank you, but I want you to open your present first." Seto set his gift on top of his dresser for now, then tugged Ryou by the hand over to the fireplace where a white envelope sat atop a red-wrapped box even bigger than the one Ryou had brought in. "I have something for both of you." He calmly sat on the edge of the hearth, the fire at his back so that his face was cast in shadow. Ryou, however, had frozen in place upon hearing that comment, startled and uncertain, though he wasn't sure he could explain why.

"Come on, open them." Seto's quiet, steady voice was encouraging, and Ryou sat beside Seto, letting the brunette hand him the box first. "This one's for him."

Bakura pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes before tearing the ribbon off and breaking through the wrapping paper with his fingernails. He opened the box and started as a golden artifact glittered at him.

"The Millennium Scale." Bakura looked at Kaiba with an appraising look, as if he hadn't counted on the corporate executive getting his hands on it. "How did you find it?"

"You couldn't even begin to name all of the resources I have at my disposal," was Kaiba's cool answer, coupled with an indifferent shrug. "If I understand correctly, though, you're bound to all deals you make, since you're a spirit." His lips began to curve into a satisfactory smirk. "You can't help but hold up your end of the deal now that I've done my part."

Bakura looked mildly conflicted, but mostly irked for having underestimated his part-time lover. "I appreciate the help, Kaiba. You were always meant to be on my side, you know." If he was going to cease toying with yadonushi, he was still going to get his fun somehow, and screwing with Kaiba never ceased to amuse.

"You keep telling yourself that," the brunette scoffed.

"It's true, though, whether you like it or not." Bakura tipped his head back so that his hair pressed against the metal grating separating them from the flames. "You were always meant for the dark side, the side of vengeance and retribution." He added in a sultry whisper, his eyes half-lidded, "The side that fights for what it deserves."

"I have a present for Ryou too, so I'd appreciate if you'd let him open it." If Bakura's comments had ruffled Kaiba's feathers or bothered him at all, you couldn't tell.

"Oh, Seto." Ryou's eyes were dewy as he threw his arms around his lover's neck and hugged him close, overcome with gratitude for the freedom he'd been given—though he was still unsure he liked Bakura having more power from another Millennium Item, but that was out of his hands now. "I love you," Ryou whispered into Seto's ear, hugging the broader male tightly and sinking into his embrace as thick arms found his waist and supported him. "I love you, I love you, I love you..." He whispered it repeatedly, knowing the words to be absolutely true.

"I love you too." This show of gratitude confirmed in Kaiba's mind that he'd done the right thing in tracking it down and bringing it to Domino. "And you're welcome." He knew that sometimes _I love you_ was Ryou's way of saying _thank you_. "You haven't opened _your_ present yet, though."

Ryou sat back with a bashful smile that became him and accepted the envelope that Seto handed him. It was sealed with blue wax, a dragon insignia in the center of the stamp, and he broke it carefully, wishing that he could preserve it. It didn't contain a Christmas card, but it did contain an airline ticket and the printed information for a hotel reservation.

"Paris?" Ryou looked up at Seto absolutely breathless. "We're... going to Paris?"

"I got you an earlier flight, so I won't be travelling with you, but I'll meet you there."

Ryou was still too stunned to speak, so Kaiba continued.

"I already made all of the arrangements for while we're there and for how you'll be getting to the airport, based all on the assumption that you have a valid passport. If not, I can pull some strings to get it renewed quickly, but—"

Ryou silenced him with a kiss, _showing_ his appreciation since he lacked the words to verbally express it. They made out for a solid ten minutes, Ryou sitting in Kaiba's lap by the time they decided to take a break.

"You're the best," Ryou whispered against Seto's neck, panting softly. Any anxiety he'd had about his gift being too much or overdone was gone. After all of this, it seemed like just the right offering to express himself. He kissed Seto's throat then pulled back, standing carefully as he dismounted his lap and went to the dresser to retrieve the present he'd treated with such care. He returned and set it in Kaiba's lap, smiling proudly as he said, "Go ahead, open it. But be careful: it's fragile."

Intrigued, Seto tugged away the ribbon, peeled back the wrapping paper, and removed the lid of the box. He lifted away the flat piece of styrofoam and lifted away a few layers of tissue paper—then stopped, eyes wide in genuine surprise. As carefully as he was capable of doing so, Seto extracted his gift from its nest of protective wrapping.

"Did you make this?" he asked, voice so quiet that Ryou could hardly hear him above the sound of the fire.

"Yes." Ryou swallowed nervously, then continued, because Seto's silence unnerved him, "I started working on it a while ago, and the first few attempts kinda sucked because I was out of practice. I got some higher quality paints to use on it too, and because I know an art major who owed me a favor, I was able to bake it in a proper kiln. I was afraid that it might not be ready in time, but—"

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you." Ryou'd never heard Seto so soft-spoken before. He'd heard him whisper, but that was different from this. Even after all the time they'd spent together, the brunette's current expression was one that Ryou'd never seen and he didn't know how to interpret it.

"It reminds me," Seto said slowly after a brief pause, "Of when Mokuba made the Blue-Eyes card for me when I was a kid."

Ryou perked up a little. He'd never heard this story before.

"We'd been here for less than a month, and I already hated it." He traced his index finger over the delicate details of glossy porcelain wings. "He made that card to encourage me, because we weren't allowed to see each other. That's how he saved me, and that was also the day I swore I would own a real Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, since that was my first one. I'm not the type to accumulate objects because of the sentimentality attributed to them, but... I still have it."

"It brings back good memories, I hope," Ryou murmured, tucking one arm under Kaiba's and giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"Indeed it does."

When Kaiba began to set aside the wrappings, Ryou released him and let Kaiba stand, standing up with him. Kaiba carefully set the hand-made, ten-inch painted sculpture of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the center of the inset shelf above the fireplace that served as a mantelpiece. It's mouth was open, each of the teeth pointed as it screeched at them, its wings spread behind it as it gripped the rocky crag that formed the base of the statuette. It's eyes caught the light with a brilliant sparkle.

"Are those... real sapphires?"

"I couldn't find or make a shade of blue that could do its eyes justice." Ryou ducked his head bashfully.

"You really shouldn't have—"

"Don't worry about how I got them," Ryou interrupted, trying to put Seto's mind at ease. "The only hard part was setting them in his eyes so that they didn't look out of place."

"Her," Kaiba corrected, then shut his mouth and hoped he hadn't started to blush.

"Excuse me?" Ryou's lips were slowly pulling into a wide smile. Seto hesitated, then gave a small smile, still staring at the glossy gift.

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon is female," he explained slowly, sensing a playful tease on the horizon. "I've _always_ thought of her as female."

"That's adorable." Ryou stood on his toes, kissed Seto's cheek, and whispered, "Your secret is safe with me."

All of his secrets were safe with Ryou. Not only was Ryou trustworthy, he tended to say little in social environments, so the chances of something slipping out accidentally were slim to none.


	9. La Vie En Rose

**"Give your heart and soul to me**  
 **And life will always be**  
 **La vie en rose."**

~ _La Vie En Rose_ by Edith Piaf

* * *

Kaiba woke slowly as grey light peeked into his hotel room from the edges of the curtains. He felt like something had woken him. A sound, perhaps? He rolled over to ask Ryou if he'd heard anything, but the other side of the bed was empty, the comforter and topsheet pulled back. The bathroom door was still open, so he wasn't there.

"Ryou?"

"Mph. Down here."

Kaiba pulled himself across the bed and looked down at Ryou, who was trying to shift from his side onto his back.

"Good morning, _mon cherie_." Kaiba crossed his arms along the edge of the mattress and rested his chin on his forearms. "What, pray tell, are you doing on the floor?"

"You see," Ryou began, pulling down the sleeves of Seto's pajama shirt-which he was currently wearing-to cover his hands up to his knuckles. "I was getting up to do my sun salutations, but, um." He blushed in that way Kaiba adored. Ryou didn't blush as darkly as he used to, but it was still precious to see.

"Are you really that sore?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble—"

"Of course not." Kaiba pulled himself out of bed, standing solidly before kneeling down to take Ryou in his arms and lift him onto the bed.

"Thank you so much." Ryou was still embarrassed by the whole thing. It hadn't happened before that he got so sore he couldn't stand. Kaiba leaned down to kiss his cheek, and Ryou murmured, "You might as well go ahead and shower first. Then we can go out for a couple hours and let the cleaning service do their job."

"They certainly have a lot to do, don't they?" Kaiba chuckled, kissing Ryou's neck, reaching for Ryou's hips with both hands and rubbing his thumbs into the hollow of his pelvic bones. Ryou hummed his approval and put his arms around Kaiba's neck as the brunette continued massaging him.

"That feels good…" he sighed, closing his eyes.

"That's the idea."

Ryou hummed again, warm and content.

"Thank you." Ryou pecked Seto's cheek. "Go on and shower; I'll order breakfast for us while you do. Any requests?"

Kaiba kissed Ryou's forehead and replied, "I'm not picky." He moved his hands from Ryou's hips and slid them to his back, embracing him for a few long moments before he released him and moved away from the bed. Ryou shifted into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and reached for the hotel phone.

"Bonjour Monsieur. Servez-vous du jus d'orange?"

* * *

When Ryou was out of his shower, the food had arrived, but Kaiba was waiting for him. Sitting at the table for two by the tall lattice window, they shared a massive omelet while Kaiba sipped coffee and Ryou drank orange juice.

"Where did you want to go today?"

"I was thinking a bookstore for you and a bakery for me."

The slight smile his reply brought to the brunette's thin lips was enough to please Ryou.

"I doubt you'll restrict yourself to just _one_ bakery, but I'm fine with that."

"There's no point in wasting an opportunity like this, is there?" Ryou sipped his juice and continued, "I want to try everything and anything that I can while I'm here."

"Have you declared a major yet?" Kaiba asked out of the blue.

"Oh, I'm nowhere near that. I've only just completed my first semester. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Kaiba ate another bite, then asked, while looking out the window at the street below, "How is it that you're in college while Yugi and the others—"

"Are still in high school?" Ryou said, finishing his question. "I took summer classes at school, because I could for free. I worked full time between summer sessions, and accrued enough credits to graduate early. I was always eager to get out of there. Too much immaturity, too many bullies and petty tyrants..." Ryou's eyes clouded over with unpleasant memories as he gazed out the window too. "I just wanted out, and I wanted everyone to leave me alone. The girls wouldn't stop fussing over me, the guys wouldn't stop picking on me, and the spirit wouldn't stop interfering..." Ryou's hand went to his chest automatically, but the lack of the Millennium Ring's presence against his chest was a reminder that he'd left the artifact in Japan. If he really _needed_ it after all, Bakura would summon it—however that worked. He wasn't going to take the risk of it getting confiscated in airport security or stolen by someone—if that happened, someone would surely get hurt, and Ryou would feel guilty.

"Hm." Kaiba drank the last of his coffee. "Are you ready to go?"

"Absolutely." Ryou put his napkin on his plate, stood with him, and walked over to the closet to get his coat. "I'm ready for an adventure in Paris." His eyes sparkled. "Are you?"

* * *

It was just the kind of "adventure" Ryou was hoping for: peaceful, scenic, but full of discovery. Ryou stopped at not one but five bakeries, buying a new delicacy at each one, and they shopped at even more antiquated book sellers for Kaiba. Although he was a modern man with a taste for technology, his multifaceted personality possessed a charmingly old-fashioned aspect. He collected rare volumes of all kinds, and had set out to read every book in his massive library-a library whose origins reached farther back than Gozaburo and was vastly free of his taint. They stopped for coffee and a late light lunch at a café called "Le Petit Dragon," then spent over an hour dawdling their way back to the hotel.

"I'm pretty sure we're lost," Kaiba mused, blue eyes turned to the grey sky as Ryou sighed theatrically.

"I _told_ you, we're not lost, we're… just taking a scenic route." Ryou snuck a glance over at Kaiba to make sure he wasn't looking up their location on his phone. He wasn't, but the smirk the brunette gave Ryou made him giggle.

"What's so funny?" Kaiba stepped closer and bent his head to peck Ryou's cheek. They were in public, but they were alone.

"I was just remembering what you looked like when I found you at the airport."

It was Kaiba's turn to sigh.

"I'm sorry, but you just _have_ to admit that was funny!" Ryou grinned, smiling in a way that he couldn't remember doing since he was a child. "When you said you'd be travelling incognito, I almost expected you to go all James Bond on me and hide in the cargo hold or something. I didn't realize that _your_ idea of incognito meant dressing like a normal person and not shaving for a week!" Ryou wouldn't tell Kaiba, but he had actually liked the dark scruff on him. Not all men could pull it off, but on Seto it looked rather rugged and dashing.

"Okay, that's it, I'm asking the internet how to get to the hotel." Seto took his phone out of his coat pocket and held it above his head, out of Ryou's desperate reach, as he started typing in their destination.

"Come on, I know exactly how to get back from here, just trust me!" Ryou was on his tiptoes, but he still couldn't reach the phone in Kaiba's hand. It wasn't Kaiba's first time threatening to use the internet to get them back to the hotel, but Ryou, wanting to prove that he wasn't helpless, had insisted that Seto let _him_ find their way back.

"If I buy you flowers, will you let me use the phone?" Kaiba offered, leaning in closer as Ryou's face came very close to his own.

"Deal."


	10. Don't Panic

**"Been shattered before, everything breaks (don't, don't)**  
 **Can't really be sure, of our mistakes (don't panic)**  
 **Come under my love, like an umbrella (don't panic)**  
 **I can make you feel good, yeah better than ever."**

 ** _Don't Panic_** **by Ellie Goulding**

* * *

Ryou was walking home from the grocery store during spring break when the monsters attacked. Millennium Scorpion appeared in front of him on the sidewalk, and he nearly screamed in shock. The artistic depictions on the trading cards did not do these monsters justice. Up close, he could see all the vicious little details about the monster that made his skin crawl and his heart stop and his knees knock. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he just stood there frozen as the awful thing crawled closer to him. He didn't even notice at first that there was a voice shouting his name; he didn't hear again until his legs started moving in accordance with someone else's will.

 _Yadonushi,_ _ **MOVE**_ _!_

Bakura had seized control over Ryou's body—at least his legs—while his mind still tried to process what was happening. The teenaged college student couldn't even put words together to form a coherent thought, but that didn't matter much at the moment. He was running towards home, because home was safety.

 _You can't just freeze like that when you're in danger, Yadonushi._

He shoved the door to his apartment building open, leaving the monsters behind on the sidewalk and in the air. He ran up three stairs to his own floor, too agitated to stand still and take the elevator. He opened the door to his apartment as quickly as his shaking hands could manage, entering and slamming the door shut behind him, locking it in every way possible.

 _It's almost like you don't even have a sense of self-preservation._

He dropped the grocery bags on the floor and just stood there, shaking all over as he tried to catch his breath.

With something like a mental sigh, Bakura gently put his host's soul to rest, sealing him away in his soul-room.

 _Rest, Yadonushi. I'll protect us._

He started by putting the groceries away, all the while trying to forcibly still his hands, regulate his breathing, and slow his heart-rate.

In his past life, things like that were never a concern, but self-awareness was something he'd learned from living with Ryou. The thief was most accustomed to focusing on his environment—the flow of a crowd, the pulse of the city, the terrain, the weather, the nearest exit, the closest weapon. Every threat he'd needed to worry about in Egypt was external, something he could physically contend with if he only ran faster, fought harder, moved quieter, and kept himself out of sight. Ryou's struggles were rather the opposite—his greatest fears, some of the greatest threats to his wellbeing, were inside himself: fear, anxiety, doubt, regret, despair. These things could eat him from the inside out until he was nothing but a husk where a man once stood.

Their different outlooks had contributed to their difficulty in getting along at first, but over time, they'd grown to balance each other. Ryou used to be oblivious to his surroundings, making him easy prey for those who might wish him harm. Bakura had taught him caution and awareness. While Bakura used to ignorant of his host's body's hunger, pain, or fatigue in the past (particularly when the spirit himself was in control), Ryou had taught him that it was important to take stock of your own physical state. If he wanted to have a body he could depend on, he needed to take good care of it.

Once the last of the groceries were put away, Bakura put the kettle on for tea, then went to Ryou's room to fetch his deck. The monsters shouldn't be appearing inside the building, but if they did, then their Duel Monsters Cards would be sufficient to protect them. Bakura didn't even need the duel disk in order to use them, the duel disk just happened to make access to them more convenient. He checked all the windows, closing and locking each one before drawing all the blinds and curtains closed. With monsters rampant outside, he felt it best to adopt a lock-down mentality. Nothing coming in, nothing going out. They would hole up here until it was safe again, unless they had cause to leave.

When the kettle whistled, he turned the stove off and brewed himself a tall mug of chamomile tea, using two tea bags to make it stronger. It wasn't his preference, but Ryou liked this kind, and it calmed him. Bakura figured that Ryou's body needed some calming influences right now. His tea was still steeping when his—their—phone rang. He answered.

"Kaiba."

"Ryou, are you alright?" The brunette sounded both flustered and concerned, but the hum of background noise told Bakura that he was probably in the middle of something.

"Yadonushi was on the verge of going into shock," Bakura replied dryly. "So I took over. We're in the apartment for now."

"Good. Do you have enough food to stay there for at least the next few days?"

"Yes, he just went shopping, so we're set for at least a week."

"Good. Right. Mokuba, stay behind me. I want you to stay there unless it's absolutely necessary for you to leave."

"Fine by me." Bakura smirked at how Kaiba interrupted himself with reprimanding his hyperactive brother.

"Health-wise, you're alright? You said Ryou was going into shock?"

"Yeah, that's what it seemed like, as far as I could tell."

"Can I ask him about it?"

"He's not talking right now." Bakura studied his fingernails boredly. "He just shut down when the monster appeared, so I'm letting him rest for now."

"Roland, tell them we'll have a press conference this evening. Seven-thirty's fine. No, that room won't be big enough."

Kaiba sounded _especially_ busy today.

"You still there?"

"Well, not _all_ there," Bakura joked, and he could just make out the sound of Kaiba's exasperated sigh.

"Is your body still exhibiting any symptoms of shock?" His voice reverberated with the echo of an institutional stairwell.

"My shaking won't stop," Bakura muttered with annoyance, holding out his own hand and watching it shiver.

"Anything else? Dizziness, nausea... anything?"

"Hm..." Bakura had to take a few moments to extend a conscious awareness to his host's body to determine if anything else was wrong. "A bit... light-headed, perhaps?" He wasn't sure if he was using that word right, but it seemed a fitting phrase the airy feeling in his head.

"Then I recommend you lay down and elevate your feet. That should get the blood flowing properly again. Hold on a moment." Kaiba moved the phone away from his mouth as Bakura picked up his mug and carried it with him to Ryou's room, setting it on the nightstand and propping up some pillows on the foot of the bed before laying on it with his feet on the pillows.

"You there?"

"Still here, and awaiting your command, your royal highness."

"Do you have any idea what's going on? Why they're appearing like this?" Kaiba sounded desperate. Intriguing.

"My first guess would be that someone's invoked them though the use of Shadow Magic, but I'm not sensing those powers at work here."

"What other possibilities are there, then?"

"Oh-ho-ho! So the great Seto Kaiba is stumped, hm? He's come to a lowly thief for help, has he?"

"It's not funny, damnit." His retort was bitter and hushed, probably because Mokuba was present and he abstained from foul language around his precious baby brother. "People are getting hurt and they're blaming _me_ for all of this. I need to give them an alternative explanation, not just say that it's not my fault."

"So that's what the press conference will be about?"

"What? Oh, yes, that. It'll probably be televised."

"Is that your way of asking me to watch it?"

"Tell Ryou that it'll be on."

"Sure, if he's fine by then."

"Can he really not talk right now?" Again, that sincere concern crept into his voice, and it sounded so pathetic to Bakura that he decided to give him a decent answer.

"He couldn't before, I don't know if he can now. Honestly, it's better to just let him rest for a little while, then I'll explain things to him and he should be calm and fine by then."

"Alright, well, tell him to take care of himself. I'll call again this evening."

" _I'll_ be taking care of him, so there's no need to worry."

Kaiba scoffed. "Right, because you've done such a great job of that in the past."

"In the past I wasn't _trying_ to take care of him," Bakura huffed, irritated. "I'd be good at it if I tried."

"I suppose I'll have to take your word for it."

"And what about me, Kaiba? Hm?"

"What about you?"

"Aren't you going to tell me to take care of myself too?"

Tight-lipped silence from the other end.

"Come now, Kaiba, I know you love him more, but there's no need to be such a dick about it," Bakura snapped.

"Take care." The words were sighed reluctantly, but they didn't sound forced.

"You too."


	11. Banana Pancakes

**"We could close the curtains,**  
 **Pretend like there's no world outside;**  
 **We could pretend it all the time.**  
 **And can't you see that it's just rainin'**  
 **There ain't no need to go outside."**

 **~ _Banana Pancakes_ by Jack Johnson**

* * *

By the time Kaiba returned to his hotel, he was both mentally and physically exhausted from the day.

 _Damn you, Siegfried. Damn you._

The German's one-sided rivalry with Kaiba had been little more than a nuisance until today, when it became an actual threat to his company. He shook away the negative thoughts as he rode the elevator up to his floor. It was over now, and Siegfried von Shroeder was never going to bother him again. He'd finally learned his lesson, defeated twice by Kaiba's superior mental prowess, so he'd learned his lesson.

 _Maybe he should focus on absorbing smaller game companies into his own company. He might actually have some small level of success that way._

Not that Kaiba was about to advise the pink-haired narcissist on how to recover his company, but if Kaiba were running it, he would be able to revive it so it could start making real profit again.

Out of the elevator, down the hall, slip the key-card into the slot on the door—and he could finally breathe easily again.

"Welcome back."

As the door clicked shut behind Kaiba, a pair of pale arms looped around his neck, pulling him down a little so soft lips could peck his cheek.

"You did really well today. I'm proud of you." Ryou'd been watching the tournament coverage on TV, sequestered away from the KC Grand Prix for safety and discretion.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," Kaiba muttered as he enveloped Ryou in his arms, hugging him tightly.

"That bad, huh?" Ryou smiled up at him sympathetically before nuzzling into Seto's neck once more. Stress practically emanated from his aura, still seeping out of his pores, spilling off of him in waves. "You can relax now, Seto, I've got you."

Pale pink lips pressed to that lily-white neck, and they stood still like that for a long while, just embracing, letting the concerns of the world slip away. Ryou didn't need to say a word before guiding Seto over to the bed, letting the brunette flop onto it with a groan of fatigue as Ryou moved over to the night-stand and ordered room service in advance, asking for it to be delivered in a little over an hour. Kaiba needed some time away from other people, Ryou knew that. With a muted grace, Ryou perched on the edge of the bed and slid over, laying one hand on the center of that broad back and rubbing it gently. Seto stirred, turning his head and opening his sleepy eyes.

"I ordered some food for us, for later." Ryou reached down and stroked thick brown bangs out of Seto's eyes. "You can rest until it arrives, if you want."

Kaiba lifted one hand up to him, and Ryou immediately accepted it, letting Seto pull him down into his arms, cuddling up against him as those sparkling blue eyes were once again hidden from view. Seto didn't seem to want to talk, and Ryou was content to let the silence reign for now in their room. When a voice finally pierced the air and broke the stillness that blanketed their entire suite, it was Seto's.

"I never thought that Siegfried would do something so extreme."

"You never really know what someone can or cannot do until they're done it," Ryou murmured neutrally, waiting to see where those tired words wanted to take him.

"Just the thought of him makes me sick." His tone was probably meant to be acidic, but it was hard to sound as venomous as he normally would when he was holding his angel so close to his heart. "To think that he'd actually accuse me like that, in public, without any evidence."

The tension was creeping back into those muscles, so Ryou hushed him.

"He was lying. Nobody believes that you would lie or steal like that." Ryou cupped Seto's face with his hands and tilted it down to face his, their faces now mere centimeters apart. "Maybe a few people out there who don't know the first thing about you would believe him, but nobody that has met you would ever think that you're capable of doing something so horrible. We know better." With his sapphire eyes glazed over with exhaustion the way that they were, Seto's expression had become incredibly difficult to read. But when, after a few moments, he pulled Ryou into a soft kiss, sweet and tender, Ryou knew that his words had hit their mark. Seto didn't need to start doubting himself now, not when he was in the midst of such a big project, not when he was under so much pressure.

Though he was usually a gentle creature himself, just the thought of Siegfried made Ryou grit his teeth and lose his smile. If he'd only seen the slander leveled at Kaiba that was televised, what other pieces of conversation had transpired between the two, missed by the cameras and microphones? What else had he said to Seto with cruel intentions? Hopefully, he would never have to know, and Seto would forget about him entirely.

After dinner, they both went to sleep rather quickly, wiped out by the day's excitement. One of them, however, did not stay asleep.

* * *

Siegfried hardly knew what to do with himself after the tournament ended, besides slinking away with his brother in tow. He deposited his brother in his own, separate hotel room with his caretakers before Siegfried retreated to the hotel's bar, choosing a secluded corner within which to drink away his bitter sorrows. He didn't drag himself up to his room for sleep until long after midnight, the alcohol dragging him deep into the void of sleep.

Unfortunately for the German, he wouldn't be left to sleep peacefully that night.

Slinking through the shadows, slipping between cracks, and taking every security measure available to him, the Spirit of the Millennium Ring tracked his prey, stalking him through the night with the aid of sentient shades that showed him the way, disguised him as he scaled the side of the hotel building, and granted him entrance through a window that was meant to be incapable of opening from the outside. There he lay, the ignorant, haughty man who thought that he'd somehow possessed superior intelligence, superior tactics, and superior power. What an absolute and utter _fool_. Lips curling into a sneer of disdain, Bakura glared at Siegfried's sleeping form, muttering an ancient incantation that summoned swirling shadows at his feet, a seething black puddle of spirits that oozed malignancy and evil.

There. That would bind them to Siegfried, walking in his steps, following him in his shadow, everywhere he went. He'd never close his eyes without a fresh horror to great him and new nightmares to teach him what true fear was.

It was vengeance, for Kaiba. There was no hiding it, no denying it. But if Kaiba was going to be his ally, his partner, he couldn't let him be slandered by a man with no actual significance to his life. It was ridiculous.

Bakura left the way he'd come, slipping back into bed beside Kaiba with an air of satisfaction and his golden artifact still slung around his neck.


End file.
